Super Smash Bros. Wii U Best Buy battle report

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For two days last week, tens of thousands of fans all over the US lined up at a handful of Best Buy locations to try out the upcoming Super Smash Bros. after it was shown off at E3. I took a trip to my local Best Buy to check the game out for myself, and like everyone else who has touched the game I can’t wait for Christmas.

Nintendo’s next big property for the Wii U is now ready to show off publicly. So just like last year with Mario Kart 8, a handful of company representatives went out to Best Buy stores armed with a thumb drive and armfuls of swag. The desired outcome? That locals would flock to the store and either pre-order the game or pick up a Wii U for themselves.

My local store played host to well over 500 people on the first day the demo was available, and just over 600 people for the second. Some of these fans had been waiting in line for over four hours just to get the chance to play two rounds of Super Smash Bros. before being asked to move along. If they then pre-ordered the game during the event, they got a special gold coin (pictured above). The coin wouldn’t be available until the game launched, but it looked as though many in line were eager to put some money down even before playing.

This demo station was not equipped with the new GameCube controller adapter for the Wii U, so everyone was playing with the Pro Controller. Nintendo wouldn’t allow me to film my own gaming session, because their policy requires a body and a controller in the shot, so the videos I have here are of another group of players.

The Nintendo rep patiently allowed everyone to familiarize themselves with the controls by showing the button layout on the screen, and then it was time to fight. Most people seemed to know immediately what characters they wanted to go for, including myself. Kirby was one of my favorites from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so I figured that was the best place to start. I was playing against two twelve year old kids and a 32 year old die hard Nintendo fan, but as soon as the match started we became equals on this brand new yet oddly familiar field of battle.

Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U has lost exactly none of the things that make it an adrenaline overdose with brilliant flashes of light and color. Kirby is not quite the juggernaut I remember him being in Brawl, but that could have just been the skill level of the player who decided Link’s purpose in life was singling Kirby out and sending him flying across the stage with every special ability he could muster. By the end of the three minute match Kirby had come in third place, and it was time to retire him for one of the new characters to the franchise.

There wasn’t enough time to set up a Mii Fighter during the brief demo period we were allotted, so instead Little Mac was my fighter of choice for Round Two. There couldn’t be a greater opposite to Kirby’s fighting style than Little Mac, who is all about being up close and sticking to the ground as much as possible. My opponents stuck with their existing choices, which gave me some advantages.

Despite the name of my character, I was delivering more damage with a single swing than anyone else. This meant that I could more easily push them to the edge of the map and deliver the final strike. It also meant that I wasn’t nearly as fast when it came to getting most of the items that came into the game, which turned out to be my undoing in the end. I finished fourth for the second match, but still managed to feel really good about it.

October can’t come soon enough, because I will absolutely be buying this game for the 3DS as well as the Wii U. There’s no shortage of amazing gameplay here, and having seen the volume of pre-orders and console purchases in my local store based on just a demo, I am positive this will be a big deal for Nintendo as we move into the Holiday season.